Gas barrier coating based on cellulose nanocrystals and its preservation effects on mango

Mango is the “king of tropical fruits” because of its attractive appearance, delicious taste, rich aroma, and high nutritional value. However, mango keeps fast metabolizing after harvest, leading to water loss, starch conversion into sugar, texture softening, and decay. Here, a gas barrier coating based on cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) is proposed to control the post-harvest metabolism of mango. The results of gas barrier permeability show that CNCs enhance the barrier ability of the chitosan (CS) membrane on mango by 202 % and 63 % for oxygen and water vapor, respectively. The gas-barrier coating reduces the climb in pH and the decrease in firmness by 84.9 % and 45.8 %, respectively, decelerating the conversion process from starch to sugar. Besides, introducing clove essential oil (CEO), the CEO mainly adsorbs and crystalizes on the hydrophobic facets of CNCs, presenting high compatibility, increases the antibacterial rate to nearly 100 %. As a consequence, the preservation period of the mango coated by the CNC-based membrane is at least 7-day longer than the control group. Such a gas-barrier coating based on eco-friendly composites must have excellent potential in the preservation of mango, and even for other tropical fruits.